Improvement in thills and poles foe carriages



J. "M BICKNELL.

Carriage Pole and Thll.

Patented June 2. 1868.

i faz/ef //W N. PETERS. PHoTLITHDGRAPHER WASHINGTDN. D C

@gleiten gieten-gamut ffirp,

JAMin-s W. BicKNvnLL, or New Yoan, N. Y]

Letters Patent No. 78,416, dated Jima 2, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN TEILLS AND POLES FOR GARRIAGIS.,

@tige tlgehutc narran tu in there. trttrrs @anni mit mating put et tigesamt.

'IO- ALL WIIOM IT MAY GONCERN:

Be it known that I, JAMES W. BICKNELL, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Thills and Polesfor Vehicles; and I do hereby'declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the shame, reference boing had to theaccompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification. A

The nature of my invention consists in constructing thills or shafts andpoles for road\..ay-vehicles of tubular metal, whereby I gain greatstrength, durability, and lightness.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure l is a plan view of the thills orshafts of an ordinary wagon, in which figure parts are shown in section,and'portionsbroken away, to more readily show the construction thereof.l

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section, taken on the plane of theline x es, iig. l, looking in the direction of the red arrows markedthereon.

To properly construct the thills or shafts and poles of vehicles, muchexpense is incurred. They must, in

all cases, be as light or small as the ease will admit of, in order togive the proper strength. lAlmost invariah y, itis necessary to securealong the sides or top, or 1ooth, of the same a strip of metal. Thisincreases greatly the' expense of their manufacture, and'dcstroys, in agreat measure, the symmetry of the shafts or thills. If this be notdone, there is constant danger of their breaking, and the subsequentexpense of repairing. vTo provide something durable, strong, andlight,lis, therefore, the object of my invention.

A designates the two chills or shafts of a four-wheeled vehicle. 'Ihcsaid thills or shafts are made of tubular metal. 'lo these are given theusual or any desired curves or shape.V There are so many ways ofattaching theA \tl1ills, as well as a pole, te a vehicle, that I havethought it only necessary to illustrate ene simple 'way of doing this,similar to the `manner in which cart-'chills are connected to theiraxles. The rear end-of each tubular thill or shaft is provided with anexternal screw-thread, which works in a female screw cut in a clipwhiclr'surrounds the axle at the proper points; hut, usually, it will benecessary to provide the end of each thill with an eye, linked in astaple secured to the axle. This would allowthe thills to be raised'upand down in the usual way. Poles for vehicles made of tubular metal mayhe secured in any of the usual ways.

IS designates a cross-brace, for strengthening the shafts. It is also oftubular metal, and has a screw-'thread cut upon each end, which screwsin'to a clip, I?, surrounding the shafts.

My tubular metallic thills or shafts and poles can he made of lightmetal for light carriages, and still he stronger and lighter than ifmade of wood.

I do not limit myself to making the entire thill, shaft, or pole, ofmetal, for it may he desirable to use wood for a part of the same, andtubular metal for the other part; and I will here remark that a vehiclewith such shafts I have had in actual use, and the universal judgment ofthose who have seen it has heen that the tubular metal shaft is farsuperior, in'many respects, to an entirely wooden shaft, or onestrengthened by strips of metal.

' What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

Thills,-or shafts, or poles, of vehicles, made, in whole or in part, oftubular metal, substantially as herein specified.

J. W.' BICKNELL.

Witnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON, JOHN 1l. Coorrn.

